ST. LOUIS — It didn’t take guts for Aaron Rodgers to throw the punch that knocked out the St. Louis Rams.

After all, it was a free play since the host Rams had graciously jumped offsides.

It did, however, take great feet, a strong arm and a fair amount of imagination for the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback to scramble to his left and, while falling off to his left, fire a 39-yard laser to wide receiver Randall Cobb in the end zone, the key play in the rejuvenated Packers’ 30-20 victory over the Rams on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.

It’s a play few NFL quarterbacks can make, yet Rodgers once again is starting to make such throws look routine. Not unlike his team, Rodgers started the season sluggishly. And not unlike his team, he is coming on with a rush.

The two developments are not unrelated.

When Rodgers is dialed in and in control like he was against the Rams, the Packers are almost impossible to beat. And since his clutch performance against St. Louis came on the heels of his lights-out, six-touchdown-pass showing in a lopsided victory over previously undefeated Houston, it’s fair to say that Rodgers has returned to the form that made him the NFL’s most valuable player last season.

Just in time, too, because Rodgers is the one player capable of hiding the Packers’ flaws and enhancing their strengths. He did it again Sunday in helping Green Bay improve to 4-3.

The Packers admittedly were lethargic in the first half, yet they took a 10-6 lead to the locker room largely because Rodgers was 13-for-15 for 165 yards and a touchdown (and one of the incompletions was a spike). In the second half, he led scoring drives on three of Green Bay’s first four possessions as the Packers answered every time the Rams made it close. The clincher was Rodgers’ strike to Cobb, a budding star whose touchdown gave the Packers a 27-13 lead shortly after the Rams had trimmed the lead to seven.

“He got the free snap and he got out of the pocket fairly quick to give himself some time and he delivered a strike,” right tackle Bryan Bulaga said. “That’s a heck of a football right there.”

If anything, the Packers were a bit ho-hum about the throw. Perhaps that’s because they’ve seen it before.

“I don’t know if there’s a throw I haven’t seen him make, whether it’s to his left or to his right,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “Aaron’s a very gifted player.”

After appearing to be just a tick off in the first five games, Rodgers has utilized his gifts to their fullest in the past two. Despite a rushing attack that is barely keeping defenses honest, Rodgers played to his MVP form in those two games.

With a little help from the elusive Cobb and powerful receivers Jordy Nelson and James Jones, he consistently kept drives alive with third-down conversions. And his throw to Cobb was the type of second-reaction play that Rodgers has perfected.

“I was on the other side and I saw him scramble back and throw it on a line to Randall,” Jones said. “I mean, his arm strength is ridiculous. We all know that. We’ve seen him make better throws, oh yeah. We practice with him every day. It doesn’t wow us.”

It should, because when Rodgers is on, there is no better quarterback in the NFL. He’s been on lately, though Rodgers, coach Mike McCarthy and several players were quick to point out that the entire offense is finding its rhythm, not just the quarterback.

“I thought he always was playing like Aaron,” Jones said. “The thing is, last year he spoiled the NFL, man. So the standard for him is sky-high, and he built that for himself by being so good.”

It’s the price one pays for success in the NFL. Rodgers was good in the first five games, but, for some critics, good wasn’t good enough.

“You go around the league before we played these last two games and everybody said (the New York Giants’) Eli Manning was having a great year,” Jones said. “He had 1,400 yards and 10 touchdowns. Pssshhh. Aaron easily had that and (they said) he was having a bad year. … Then you see the last two weeks, and you’re like, ‘Where’s that been at?’ But he’s been playing well. It’s just, somebody’s got to take the blame when you’re losing and not playing well.”

The beauty of Rodgers is he takes criticism and converts it into motivation. But he’ll have to seek new motivation this week because a passing line of 30-for-37 for 342 yards, three touchdowns and multiple third-down completions is immune to criticism.

“I’m expected to be consistent week in and week out,” Rodgers said. “There’s been times where that hasn’t been the case, but I’m happy with the way our offense is progressing. Obviously, I wanted to come out and play really well. Missed a couple throws I probably could have hit, but other than that I think it was a good performance by our offense.”

And an even better performance by its quarterback.

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